a/c purchase question

[Flying surfer]

I've been toying for the last 3-4 years with the idea of buying an a/c,with the dollar at an all time low maybe this si the right time to go for it.

My questions is am i really saving money buying in the US and then flying back with the added ferry costs, etc? has anyone done this and if so what were your rough costs.

How do you go about sorting out a pre purchase inspection or are there compaines in the US that will do this for you?

Lots of things to think about but when you are shelling out $70000 you need to get it right

[Shunter]

Not having done it myself but having looked at it in the past I'd give advice on one aspect of importing an aircraft - do it via Denmark. They have a 0% VAT policy, so you can import your aircraft into the EU (via Denmark) without having to pay any VAT as you would if you brought it directly into the UK. That's a hell of a lot of money if you buy a nice SR22! A chap on the Flyer forums undertook such a ferry recently and posted fairly extensively on the ins and outs of the process.

There are pitfalls and red tape involved, but it's usually well worth the effort. The slightest paperwork mistake and C&E will have you bent over, pants round ankles in a flash. Hopefully others will comment in due course who have more practical experience.

[ChampChump]

"My questions is am i really saving money buying in the US and then flying back with the added ferry costs, etc?"

No.

More detail here: http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=37664
But if it's what you really, really want, not available here and you have bottomless pockets, why not?

[Contacttower]

No.



Just out of interest do you speak from personal experience ChampChump? Reason I ask is that I've been researching prices and costs relating to importing from America for a while now and I reached the conclusion that for some aircraft at least there are real savings to be had buying in the US.

[flybymike]

I believe the nought percent Denmark VAT route is about to be closed off.

[ChampChump]

Contacttower
No. It's just opinion, not experience. I thought about it some time back and came to the conclusion that it really wasn't going to be a sensible idea, for the reasons mentioned in the thread mentioned above. Of course, what I fly now (and many others similar) came into the UK at some stage, so there has to be a cost-effective level of decision-making that works somewhere. Sharing a container appears to be the best option, but the costs just start there. For the import of small aeroplanes, there's no saving to be had that I can see.

I've looked a little at the new versions of the classics that are back in production in the US and the base prices might seem tempting at present to those thinking of a new aeroplane that isn't a plastic fantastic...$79,000 (upwards) for a new Taylorcraft/Cub/Champ etc..... It's not an issue for me because I haven't got anything like that sort of money but if I had, I iterate that the cost of import would wipe out any savings and then some.
Unless someone decided to investigate economies of scale? I don't dispute it can be done, but just can't see how it would actually save any money by the time the aircraft is through the various hoops and on the line. IIRC, there was an article on the subject in one of the glossy comics a few months back that included some case histories and not one of those interviewed could make a financial argument for doing so. I'd be genuinely delighted to hear you could. It's time we relieved the US of some more of its aeroplanes.
None of the above is pertinent if it's what you want to do. And/or you are Ms Howell: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1/3d097a7c-6a43-11dc-a571-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=7e7118a4-6056-11dc-8ec0-0000779fd2ac.html